As cigarette boxes of this type, hinged-lid cigarette boxes have widely been used. Such cigarette boxes each contain an inner pack. The inner pack includes a cigarette bundle and a wrapping material that wraps the bundle.
Well known among the above-mentioned cigarette boxes are those that each contain a sheet-like article, or a coupon, together with the inner pack. A cigarette box of this type is disclosed, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-253279. When the cigarette box disclosed in this publication is opened, a coupon protrudes from the cigarette box.
There is a tendency in recent years that many of public spaces are designated as non-smoking areas. Accordingly, smoking areas in which ashtrays are set up are drastically reduced both inside and outside of buildings. Because of such a smoking environment, smokers have to take along their own ash containers.
However, it is too much bother for a smoker to take along the portable ash container, albeit a small one, in addition to the cigarette box. It is then possible to keep the portable ash container within the cigarette box, instead of inserting the coupon disclosed in the above-mentioned publication.
In this case, the ash container requires a cigarette box of a larger size. On top of that, a used portable ash container gives off an offensive smell, so that it is unfavorable to put the used container back into the cigarette box.
It is an object of the invention to provide a cigarette box that makes it possible to easily carry a sheet-like article, such as a coupon and a portable ash container, along with the cigarette box without the need for enlarging the cigarette box, and an outer blank therefor. More specifically, when the sheet-like article is a portable ash container, an object of the invention is to provide a cigarette box that does not cause a trouble even if the used portable ash container is carried with the cigarette box, and an outer blank therefor.